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Speaker: Guith to touch on energy realities

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WHEN: 10:15 a.m.

WHAT: “Realistic Solutions to America’s Energy Realities”

WHO: Christopher Guith, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for 21st Century Energy

Christopher Guith is vice president for policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy. He is responsible for developing the Institute’s policies and initiatives as they apply to the legislative, executive, and regulatory branches of the federal and state governments.

Previously, Guith served as the deputy assistant secretary for nuclear energy at the U.S. Department of Energy, where he developed the administration’s nuclear energy policies and coordinated the Department’s interactions with Congress, stakeholders, and the media. He was also the deputy assistant secretary for congressional affairs at DOE. While there, Guith was a chief representative of the administration during the drafting and debate of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Earlier in his career, Guith served as Rep. Bob Barr’s legislative director and Congressman Tim Murphy’s counsel and policy advisor. He was also the legislative counsel for the Environment, Technology & Regulatory Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Guith is a graduate of Syracuse University-College of Law and the University of California-Santa Barbara.

Grand Junction will be a stop along the “Energy Reality Tour.” For the past year, officials with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy have been touring the country and meeting with business and community leaders to size up attitudes about America’s energy policy.

Christopher Guith, the vice president for policy at the Energy Institute, says the nationwide dialogue has resulted in “proposals to create a better energy situation in any way you measure it — whether it’s to make energy cheaper, or improve energy security or improve environmental impact.”

Guith will share some of those ideas during the Energy Forum & Expo.

In “Facing Our Energy Realities: A Plan to Fuel Our Recovery,” the Energy Institute lays out a plan to:

• Maximize America’s Own Energy Resources:

America can make better use of its own abundant energy resources by promoting energy efficiency, producing more domestic energy, improving access to federal lands, and allowing for development of new resources.

• Make New and Clean Energy Technologies More Affordable:

To help lessen the costs that impede the use of new and cleaner energy, the Energy Institute proposes committing to innovation and demonstration of new technologies and providing financial mechanisms through a self-funding Clean Energy Bank.

The mission of the Energy Institute is to unify policymakers, regulators, business leaders and the American public behind a common-sense energy strategy to help keep America secure, prosperous and clean.

“In order to make that happen, they have to be proposals that have strong, legitimate bipartisan support,” Guith said. “Our mission is to chart a path toward a more secure energy future, so that in a policy-making environment, business has a proactive voice.”

Unfortunately, energy is a “less sexy” policy issue than others in Washington, Guith said. But it always grabs headlines when the price of gasoline goes up.

“We are cognizant of that from a psychology and political perspective and we want to take advantage of it. “That’s one thing that affects every single American. You can look at all the health care debates you want, but the price of energy is affecting you right now — reducing discretionary spending.”

“We fully intend to take advantage of that issue as everyone turns their attention to energy as a topic. There are some things we can look at that the overwhelming majority of Americans will support.”